Speaking at a Nickoloedon event a couple of weeks ago, Transformers director Michael Bay whose production company are handling the reboot of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles invited fanboy wrath, saying, “These turtles are from an alien race.”

Robbie Rist, who voiced Michelangelo in the 1990 live-action movie, echoed a lot of fans when he fumed, “I know believing in mutated talking turtles is kinda silly to begin with but am I supposed to be led to believe there are ninjas from another planet? The rape of our childhood memories continues …”

“Fans need to take a breath, and chill,” responded Bay. “They have not read the script. Our team is working closely with one of the original creators of Ninja Turtles to help expand and give a more complex back story. Relax, we are including everything that made you become fans in the first place. We are just building a richer world.”

Check out the Complete Guide to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, featuring interviews with comic-book creator Peter Laird, artist Erik Larson, toy designer Mike Doney, and more in the current issue of SciFiNow.